The casino smoking ban that has long been sought by Atlantic City casino dealers and other groups has cleared committee in the New Jersey Senate on the fourth try.
The state Senate’s Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee cleared SB 1493, a bill that would eliminate the casino exemption to the 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act, which bans indoor smoking at virtually all other locations. Under the exemption, patrons of Atlantic City casinos are permitted to smoke on 25 percent of casino floors.
Groups of casino employees, led by the group of Atlantic City dealers known as Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE), have campaigned for four years to close the casino loophole to the indoor smoking ban. The effort has been joined by anti-smoking groups including Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANS) and the American Cancer Society’s Casino Action Network (ACS CAN) in the effort.
The vote sends the smoking ban legislation to the Senate floor. The move was heralded by the anti-smoking groups, but drew dire warnings from Atlantic City industry reps and a major employee union, who predict a huge loss of business and layoffs of thousands should a casino smoking ban be enacted.
After the vote, a confrontation occurred outside the state Capitol between pro- and anti-smoking groups, which had to be separated after a shouting match over the smoking ban.
Donna DeCaprio, president of Local 54 of UNITE HERE, which represents bartenders, cocktail servers, housekeeping employees and others in Atlantic City casinos, held an online discussion with state Senator Joseph Vitale, chairman of the health committee, and warned that as many as three of the city’s casinos could be forced to close in the event of a total smoking ban. She said as many as 3,000 jobs could be lost.
“In South Jersey, there are no replacement jobs of this caliber,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “A total ban is going to result in an economic catastrophe for Atlantic City, the region and the state.”
Supporters of the bill—including the United Auto Workers, which represents Atlantic City casino dealers—have rejected that argument with statistics showing where casino revenues have gone up following smoking bans. Prominent among those examples is a casino in Pennsylvania, where opponents of the ban claim smokers will migrate in the event of a ban, abandoning Atlantic City.
A few years ago, the Parx casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania implemented a total smoking ban on its floor, but it remains the highest-earning casino in the state.
CEASE was quick to praise the Senate vote, and to assail a plan by state Senator Vince Polistina to introduce a compromise bill supported by the industry that would create so-called “Philip Morris smoking rooms” inside casinos, where employees would work voluntarily.
“We thank the committee for voting to pass legislation that will immediately improve our workplace conditions and fully protect thousands of frontline casino workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke,” the CEASE statement said. “Today is a great day in our fight for a healthier workplace, and we won’t stop fighting for this legislation until we can finally breathe smoke-free air at work. We urge lawmakers to pass this bill when it comes to the Senate floor because no one should be forced to choose between their health and a paycheck.
“Senator Vince Polistina should not introduce his so-called ‘compromise’ bill that will only compromise the health of AC workers. Only a couple of weeks ago he told workers that this bill did not have the votes to get out of this committee, but here we are celebrating this milestone. The train is leaving the station and it’s time for him to get on board or get out of the way.”
The American Cancer Society also was quick to praise the committee. “Everyone has the right to breathe clean, smoke-free air, and no one should have to compromise their health for a paycheck,” said Quinton Law, government relations director for ACS CAN in New Jersey. “We’d like to thank Senator Vitale for his leadership on this issue and the committee members who voted in favor of Senate Bill 1493.
“ACS CAN is eager to see the Assembly Health Committee follow the lead of their Senate colleagues and move this legislation forward as is—with no amendments—to protect all workers and the public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke exposure.”
“Public health and labor advocates have been waging this fight—to uphold the true promise of the Smoke-Free Air Act—for 18 years,” said ACS CAN volunteer Stephanie Chapelliquen. “Some of my fellow survivors, who’ve led this push, have seen this debate reach adulthood. I am glad the hold-up stops today with the Senate committee’s vote and hope the progress will continue. The next milestone in this proposal should be its passage, not a 19th year.”
